Wednesday, 18 January 2017

The Ministerial nominations made so far are aimed at ensuring an effective governance system for the country. In all, the President has put forward 36 nominations for vetting by Parliament. The nominations were made in line with the vision of the President to take immediate steps to facilitate rapid socio-economic development of the country in the short to medium term. It is the desire of the President to build an optimistic, self-confident and prosperous nation with a strong and thriving democratic society in which mutual trust and economic opportunities exist for all, irrespective of their background. To be able to achieve this, there is the need to ensure effective implementation of policies geared towards speedy growth in all sectors of the economy. In this connection, the focus must be on agriculture, energy, manufacturing, health, education and eradication of poor conditions and hunger across the country. There is also the need to encourage value-added exports to strengthen economic growth.

All these cannot happen by chance but need to be addressed in a purposeful manner. The implication here is that, the country cannot continue in the same old ways of doing things but must come up with innovative strategies of achieving the desired vision. At a glance, the 36 Ministers-designate so far may be seen to be too many. However, when viewed in terms of the specific peculiar needs of the country such as the desire for rapid economic growth, employment generation at the district level and fulfilling the aspiration for all-inclusive growth and development in different parts of the country, it becomes easy to understand why six new Ministries, to be based at the Presidency, have become necessary. The need for regional re-organisation, inner-city and Zongo development, special development initiatives and Ministerial monitoring and evaluation of all government projects, among others, constitute the new direction that the country must follow for the realisation of the vision of the President. The battle ahead is a tough one but that is the only option available for us to achieve our dreams.

The President needs the support of all to deliver, not destructive vicious attacks meant to destroy the reconstruction effort underway in the country. Let us avoid criticising others through prejudiced lenses as this can draw us back into the undesirable dark days of suffering, corruption, arrogance of power and aimlessness. At least, there is much hope for the future so this should be exploited to inject energy to propel us all to achieve what is good for the country. It is important to keep away from cheap propaganda and focus on the good works and results which are yet to come. Patience is a virtue so we need to unite to support the President to achieve our ultimate desire of an accelerated economic growth and improved standard of living for all Ghanaians.

BY: KOFI AMPONSAH-BEDIAKO, HEAD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, GHANA STANDARDS AUTHORITY